#sam kipling

[prouvairesverse]

Patron Minette + Mme Thenardier

[rolandtowen]

A Winter Soldier / Avengers Tower Recovery fic in the year of our lord 2024?

It's more likely than you think!

Read the first chapter on Ao3 or under the cut!

Tony Stark was not ready to be housing a recovering assassin, but here he was. 

The fearsome Winter Soldier had passed out beside Steve on the bank of the Potomac – and Maria Hill brought him straight to Avengers Tower. 

“Why me?” Tony griped. “Why do I have to save this guy? He’s killed dozens of people, maybe more. Whoever he used to be, he’s not Barnes anymore.”

Maria turned on her heel. “Because you have an apartment built to hold the Hulk, which should hold him. Because SHIELD just imploded and we need to keep him out of HYDRA’s hands. And,” she paused to take a cookie Pepper offered her, “because he’s the longest-held prisoner of war in global history.” She throws a stack of folders down on Tony’s desk. “Even if he’s not Barnes anymore, he’s not responsible for what he did. Read those.”

Tony did. And he threw up in the nearest trash can. 

Pepper set up an Avengers meeting for the next morning. 

Steve, Sam, and Natasha had all spent the night in the Tower, Sam staying in the guest room on Steve's floor and Natasha on her own floor. Bruce and Helen had already been living in the Tower, and both responded immediately when Pepper asked if they could provide medical attention to the Soldier. 

No one got much sleep that night. The files made it from Tony, to Steve, to Natasha, and to Sam. Steve makes it through one folder before having to excuse himself. Sam doesn’t know where he goes. 

They start the next morning with copious amounts of coffee in the conference room. 

“We finally got a sedative to work on him around three a.m.,” Bruce explains. “He's so underweight, it's a miracle he's still functional.”

Natasha lifts an eyebrow at him. “The man who attacked me on the highway was not underweight.” 

“For a normal guy, he's got a lot of muscle mass, but for an enhanced person? He's underweight compared to Steve at least. He's got almost zero body fat.” 

“And that's a problem because?” Tony drawls. 

Bruce takes a gulp of his coffee, exasperated. “Well, for one thing, his temperature regulation has got to be screwed. Humans also need body fat to regulate hormone production and nutrient absorption. No unenhanced person could be at this body fat percentage and live. Their brain would stop functioning.” 

“Oh.” Tony shuts his mouth. 

A silence falls over the table as they consider the mess they’ve gotten into. SHIELD has just been exposed as a fraud, and the Avengers find themselves in possession of the most effective assassin in the world, who happens to be a starving, brainwashed POW.

"We need to designate one person for him to interact with. Build a routine." Sam's been delving into the files they'd recovered from the HYDRA vault, and has the bags under his eyes to prove it. “HYDRA designated one person to give him orders. They called them his ‘handler’.”

"I can do it," Steve offers immediately, even as he winces at the way his ribs complain. "He recognized me on the Helicarrier." 

"He also broke nineteen of your bones," Tony deadpans. "One moment of lucidity does not a Bucky make." 

"Tony, seriously? He pulled me from the river." Tony opens his mouth for another retort, but falls silent when Natasha stands. 

"I can do it. He was wiped after the highway, yeah?" 

Tony nods. They'd captured a HYDRA technician who was singing like a canary. Incredible what secrets people will reveal to avoid going to the Raft forever. 

"Then he doesn't remember me as a target. He'll remember Sam or Steve from the Helicarriers. I'm our best bet." She pauses. Her face remains neutral but Steve can tell she's fighting to calm herself. "And I had to deprogram after the Red Room. It's not the same, but..." She trails off. 

"It's the closest experience that any of us have about what he's gone through," Bruce offers. "And it might not be a bad idea to limit his contact with men for now. When I was working on him, his vitals were off the charts, but he seemed much calmer when Helen took over."

Steve nods and Tony claps his hands together. "Alright then, how do we start?" 

Natasha gives him a weak smile. "Very, very slowly." 

***

The Soldier is warm. They had given it new clothes, ones not sopping wet from the river. The Soldier likes being dry. 

The technician, a woman with black hair pulled back into a bun, had brought the Soldier to its holding cell. She had set its flesh arm and placed it in a sling. Inexperienced, certainly. The Soldier will not need a sling in a few hours. 

The holding cell is...odd. 

It is not the Soldier's place to question its handlers. But why the carpet? There are no obvious drains on the floor. The carpet will only get soiled when they hose it down. 

There's furniture too. A room with a couch and a TV, a kitchen area with a table. There's two closed doors across the room. The Soldier considers these. Maintenance was performed on another floor, and the Soldier has never had weapons storage in its holding cell. 

The Soldier turns abruptly when it hears the door to the cell open. Another woman, one with red hair, strides into the room. She is wearing a black tactical uniform, her hair just brushing the shoulders of her leather jacket. This must be his handler. He's never had a woman handler before though. 

"Soldier," the woman says, a voice oddly absent of a distinct accent. "Status update." 

The Soldier stands at attention as best it can with the sling on its arm. "Bodily function: 75 percent. Mission: none. Awaiting further instructions." 

The woman eyes the Soldier for a moment, then orders: "Injury report." 

"Right arm, fractured, five hours until operational. Torso, three broken ribs, not impeding function. Hydration level, 50 percent, not impeding function. Calorie intake, 25 percent of optimal, not impeding function." 

The handler looks at the technician, who nods, saying: "that's everything we saw in the lab." The handler nods. "Thank you, Helen, you may go." 

The technician retreats from the cell, and the Soldier is left alone with its handler. 

"Soldier, describe your method of caloric intake." 

"Liquid. Through feeding tube or drinking. Optimal intake is 5,000 calories a day. Minimum required is 500." The Soldier isn't sure if it is correct to address the handler as "ma'am", so it refrains. The handler doesn't seem to notice the lack of title. 

"Thank you, Soldier. We will feed you at optimum intake. Come with me." The Soldier follows the handler as she moves through the cell. She opens the first door, a bathroom. "You may use these facilities at any time, without permission. Do you understand?" The Soldier nods. “This floor is also equipped with a computer called JARVIS. JARVIS, can you say hello?”

“Hello, Soldier,” a soothing male voice responds. “If you have any questions, you can speak my name and I can try to help.”

“Thank you, JARVIS.” The handler continues her tour as if nothing was strange about a man’s voice coming through the walls. The Soldier shakes its head. JARVIS must just be a highly advanced surveillance system. Its new buyers are clearly very powerful. 

The handler leads the Soldier to the second room. This room is larger, with a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. The Soldier hesitates in the threshold. Are these...handler quarters? Is the Soldier going to live with its handler?

"This room is yours," the handler says softly. "You may come in here without permission. You may sleep either on the bed or the floor. No one will sleep here but you." 

The Soldier stutters forward, placing its metal hand upon the bedsheets. "Permission to speak," it croaks. 

"Granted." The handler holds its gaze. 

"What...what is my mission?" 

The handler considers for a moment, then: "Effective immediately, your mission is to obtain optimal levels of hydration, caloric intake, and sleep for at least seven continuous days. Understood?" 

The Soldier nods. This is a test of its self-sufficiency. Its new owners want to know what it functions like at peak performance. Furthermore, the Soldier suspects that its owners want it to acclimate to these luxuries. 

So they can take them all away again. 

***

Steve has a sour look on his face when Natasha enters the surveillance room. 

"Spit it out, Rogers." 

Steve glares at her. "I get that we have to go slowly, but did you really have to order him around so much?"

She sits beside him, staring at the many camera angles of the apartment holding Bucky. "To you, I'm sure it looked like a lot of orders, but to him?" She points at one feed, showing Bucky seated on the floor next to his bed, running his metal fingers over the blanket again and again. "I barely gave him any. He's had his every action controlled for seventy years. He's probably had to ask permission every time he needs to eat, sleep, and piss." She folds her arms. "Ordering him to use the bathroom and bedroom without permission? That's like giving him the fruit of Eden, Steve." 

"Free will," Steve murmurs. His eyes are locked on Bucky's prone form. “I’m sorry, I know you know what you’re doing, but it’s just awful seeing him like this.”

Natasha rests a warm hand over his. “I know, Steve. But for what it’s worth, I think he’s still in there.”

“What was it like,” Steve asks suddenly, “Clint deprogramming you?”

“He had to gain my trust. Show me that he wasn’t going to hurt me or turn me back over to the Red Room when I fucked up. And like what Sam said earlier – I needed routine in order to feel safe.”

Steve swallows. “How long did it take?”

Natasha hums. “The better part of a year, I would say. Just to deprogram. But still, after all these years…” her eyes look suddenly very far away. “I still get nightmares. I’m hypervigilant, which is great for superhero work, not so great for normal life.”

Steve nods in understanding. They sit in silence together for the better part of an hour, watching Bucky slowly fall asleep leaning against his bed. "What will you set the next mission as?" Steve asks finally. “You know, once he gets past the seven days.”

Natasha considers this. "Maybe getting him onto solid food? I know he needs a shit ton of therapy, but he's fucking emaciated. He needs to stay alive, first and foremost." 

Steve nods. "Heal the body, then the mind," he agrees. “That's why you have JARVIS addressing him as ‘Soldier”, yeah?”

“Yep. He can have an identity crisis after he puts on some weight.”

"The kitchen has a protein shake Tony formulated for me. Should have all the stuff he needs. Three a day should get him pretty close to 5,000 calories too." Steve thinks 5,000 is pretty low for an enhanced individual too.

Natasha stands. "I'm going to have sealed water bottles delivered to him as well. I didn't trust water out of a tap for almost three months after Clint found me." She suppresses a shudder. "I'll let the kitchen know to send him the shakes. You gonna stay here for a bit?" 

Steve nods, his eyes never leaving the camera feed showing Bucky. 

***

The Soldier must have fallen asleep leaning against the bed, because it startles at a soft noise from the kitchen. “There has been a food and water delivery, Soldier,” the computer in the walls tells it.

Clambering to its feet, the Soldier finds a bottle filled with a thick shake sitting on the kitchen counter, alongside a case of bottled water. A note has been left under the shake. 

Three shakes a day for optimal nutrition. Three waters a day for optimal hydration. More of both are in the fridge. Seven days starts tomorrow. Sleep well, Soldier.

The Soldier takes a sip of the shake. It had expected a foul flavor, like the meals from its previous handlers, but this one...is almost sweet. 

Vanilla, a voice in its head supplies. This flavor is called vanilla. 

The Soldier does not know what time it is, but it feels tired. It drinks, first one of the shakes, then two of the bottles of water. It does not know where the trash is, so it rinses the shake bottle and places all three of them on the counter by the sink. Perhaps the handler wants evidence of how many of each it has consumed. It could ask the computer in the walls, but it does not want to earn a punishment yet. 

Questions always earned punishment. 

It returns to the bedroom and the blanket on the bed. It cannot feel anything more than pressure with its metal hand, but something about the repetitive motion of running its fingers over the soft material is…calming. That’s the word. The Soldier does not dare to sleep on the bed. The handler said it could sleep on the floor or the bed. The Soldier knows its place. 

It sleeps on the floor, its metal hand holding the corner of the blanket like a lifeline. 

***

The first of the seven days begins with another shake and bottle of water. Its flesh arm is fully operational, and the sling comes off, neatly folded on the kitchen table. The Soldier does not know how long it slept last night. It hadn’t wanted to ask a question so soon, but its sleep is also paramount to mission success. 

“JARVIS,” it speaks into the empty air. 

“Yes, Soldier?” 

“How many hours of sleep were obtained last night?”

“Six hours, Soldier. The minimum amount of sleep for optimal functioning is seven hours.”

The Soldiers’ lip trembles. It had failed. “Thank you, sir,” it says to JARVIS. Surely the computer will report its failure to the handler, and the handler will punish it. The shake that had settled so nicely in its stomach now turns sour, and the Soldier fights the urge to vomit. That will only make its punishment worse. 

“If I may, Soldier,” the computer continues to speak. “I have been programmed with several ways to help individuals relax at nighttime. You are more than welcome to explore these this evening. Or I could tell you more about them now.”

“You are…programmed to help me?” Fuck it, the Soldier had already asked one question. It may as well ask some more.

“That is correct. Would you like further explanation?” 

“Yes, please, sir.” 

JARVIS demonstrates several noises for the Soldier, which he claims are relaxing. The Soldier feels a panic rise in its throat at the sound of rushing water and fire crackling, but it enjoys the rain sounds. “I can play the rain sounds while you sleep. It is a form of white noise that may help you sleep more deeply.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

“It is still early morning, Soldier. You could go to sleep for another hour without disturbing your circadian rhythm.” 

“The handler has…no other tasks for me today?” 

“That is correct. Your only tasks are to maintain optimal levels of hydration, calorie intake, and sleep.” 

The Soldier breathes out shakily. It had not failed completely. It could still maintain optimal sleep levels. “Could – could you play the rain, please, sir?” 

“Of course, Soldier.” 

The Soldier returns to the floor of the bedroom. This time, it feels bold enough to pull the blanket off the bed. 

It sleeps. 

***

“Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, Sergeant Wilson,” JARVIS greets the three of them, still curled up in the surveillance room. “I would like to report that Sergeant Barnes is now sleeping. I project he will reach nine hours of sleep today. He has also consumed one food shake and one bottle of water.” 

“Thank you, JARVIS.” Steve stands, wincing a bit at the tug on his ribs. “That was well done, having him go back to sleep.” 

“Thank you, Captain. I must report as well that Sergeant Barnes appeared quite distressed when I relayed his less than optimal sleep from last night.” 

Sam shoots Natasha a look. “He was expecting to be punished.” Sam shudders as he thinks back to the folder labeled “correction methods.” 

“But he wasn't.” Natasha sighs. “We just keep doing this, setting healthy goals, refusing to punish him, until we can figure out the next step. But I don't know who we could trust to even attempt to tackle his mental state.” Natasha waves her fingers at her head. 

“We get him through this week, and I can make some calls,” Sam offers. “This is so out of my depth, but I worked with a guy in Afghanistan who specialized in reintegration for captured soldiers. We can start there.” 

Steve nods. “As long as it's better than the shitshow Fury put on for me, I say we give it a shot.” His gaze turns back to the camera feed, where Bucky's stirring after his morning nap. “JARVIS,” Steve calls out. “Can you have some new clothes ordered for Bucky?” 

“Of course, sir. Any colors that Sergeant Barnes prefers?” 

“Blue.”

[nerds-yearbook]

The science fiction movie Alien Nation premiered on October 7, 1988. According to the story, Earth made contact with aliens, known as the Newcomers, in 1988. The events of the movie took place in 1991. James Caan played police detective Matthew Sykes and was partnered with Mandy Patinkin's Newcomer Sam Francisco. The film was written by Farscape creator Rockne S. O'bannon. It went on to span a TV series and several TV movies. Brian Thompson was the only actor to appear in both the movie and the TV version. ("Alien Nation", Movie Event)

[sonja-cherno]

1917 by Sam Mendes || BOOTS by Rudyard Kipling

Guess who spend two weeks making a tiktok trend edit, only to end up not being able to put it on tiktok!

I don't care tho, that was a really cool thing to learn how to do

[stars278]

Les Mis West End Summer & 40th Anniversary Cast Announcements!

40th Anniversary West End (Limited Run from Sept 6th - Nov 1st 2025)

Killian Donnelly as Jean Valjean (with Ian McIntosh performing at some performances), Bradley Jaden as Javert, Katie Hall as Fantine, Jac Yarrow as Marius, Shan Ako as Éponine, Jordan Shaw as Enjolras, Beatrice Penny-Touré as Cosette, Adam Gillen as Thénardier and Marina Prior as Madame Thénardier.

West End 2025

Ian McIntosh as Jean Valjean, Sam Oladeinde as Javert, Katie Hall as Fantine, Adam Gillen as Thénardier, Claire Machin as Madame Thénardier, Thiago Phillip Felizardo as Marius, Amena El-kindy as Éponine, Joe Griffiths-Brown as Enjolras and Izzi Levine as Cosette.

With Hollie Aires, Aidan Banyard, Ella May Carter, Nicholas Carter, Matthew Dale, Irfan Damani, Lila Falce-Bass, Sophie-May Feek, Jessica Johns-Parsons, Seán Keany, Chris Kiely, Sam Kipling, Mia Lamb, Sarah Lark, Ollie Llewelyn-Williams, Matthew McConnell, Aaron-Jade Morgan, Adam Pearce, William Pennington, Jordan Simon Pollard, Lewis Renninson, Danielle Rose, Georgia Tapp, Noah Thallon, Imaan Victoria, and Danny Whelan.

So excited to see all these performers in their new and continue roles this year! 🥰🥹❤️

[sgiandubh]

Dear (returning) Considering Anon,

You wrote this and you have been blocked. Again. Fair enough, make as many clones as you wish: I shall not answer anymore.

You took a hefty chunk of your time only to write this and be read on a very early morning start between urinating and brushing my teeth. I should applaud your dedication, but I won't.

If you wish to insinuate I hacked into their account, you are, once more, laughably wrong:

As I said, someone from your own camp inadvertently pointed the way:

Not an approximate payroll - a budget estimate. Two different things, as Claire was not cast at the time. Simple basis for further negotiations and in no way the final figures. Series' renewal was announced on August 15, 2014, 1 (one!) day after the broadcast of the first episode. Any negotiated raise was, therefore, involving both of them and their agents - we also know they 'had each other's back' since very early on - no need for me to further develop, you know exactly what I mean:

That email was either hacked, or 'erroneous': the twain shall never meet, like Kipling's East and West. Too subtle for you? The appropriate term is 'vague': a vague enough 'we', for me not to base my reasoning on it alone.

Diana Gabaldon 'Erself confirmed the fact that there was not much to do, other than going on with the shooting of Season 1 and certainly no time for any exterior relationships. But hey, why bother, the Screeching Banshees know best, right, since they are happily 'adulting' in their corner (the nerve!).

You guys are always grasping at that paper the way people usually grasp at straws, with zero critical approach towards the many legitimate questions that 'marriage' leaves perfectly unanswered. If all marriage papers in the universe reflected deep love and commitment, we'd probably be living in a perfect, ideal and (between you and me) very boring world. In this case, the mismatch is obvious, a shitload of details do not click, the Happy Couple systematically looks as if pushed to the gallows with bayonets, rather than being a part of glam events, that house still looks, as we speak, emptier than Mrs. Havisham's living room and the commonly 'owned' businesses are, likewise, empty shells (spare one of them and for a very precise reason). And that is just scratching the surface of the itch, darling. Your inability to question whatever you are so opportunistically fed tells me more than you'd certainly want about yourself, that being said.

You are correct, shooting ended yesterday. Perhaps it's time for you to move on and find another obsessive fandom to pounce upon: after all, there are so many interesting series out there! After almost one year and a half in here, I am still amazed at your intolerance and your very credulous conviction that you are somehow doing God's work, every single day, harassing people who dare to think differently, simply because they know differently. And no, unlike you, I am not basing my very firm stance just on the interactions I see between them during promo, two historical trolls ridiculous lies or the social media findings of another obsessed troll.

The comparison between SC pics and Sam/Greedy Driver ones is simply grotesque. Dropping names as Lily (who?) won't make me believe you are one of the insiders, either.

On top of it all, thank you for the wonderful final idiocy:

Romanian for bustard is 'dropie'. I remember watching them roam near my grandparents' home, many moons ago and can absolutely confirm they do run fast.

You should take heed, Anon. My question for you will always be why. Why are you doing this and exactly what do you hope to achieve?

[marleneoftheopera]

Holiday Audio/Video Gifts!

For the holiday season, here are some audio gifts from various shows and one Phantom video! The link to them is here and the info is below the cut:

Happy holidays and I hope you are all having time for some rest!

Audios

POTO

Jon Robyns, Paige Blankson, Joe Griffiths-Brown, Kelly Glyptis, Matt Harrop, Adam Linstead, Francesca Ellis, David Kristopher Brown, Maiya Hikasa August 22, 2023; London

Tim Howar, Harriet Jones, Nadim Naaman, Lara Martins, Nicholas Garrett, Arvid Larsen, John Ellis, Valerie Cutko, Kelsi Boyden March 19, 2023; Greece

Josh Piterman, Corinne Cowling (u/s), Danny Whitehead, Katy Hanna (u/s), Ross Dawes, Kris Manuel (u/s), Sophie Caton (u/s), Paul Ettore Tabone, Georgia Ware October 17, 2019; London ​Matinee.

Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Richard Poole (u/s), Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek, Kara Klein, Scott Mikita (u/s) March 9, 2013; Broadway Matinee performance.

John Owen-Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Margaret Mary Kane (u/s), Janet Murphy, Jeremy Secomb, Lucy Middleton January 5, 2002; London

Love Never Dies

Tam Mutu, Celia Graham, David Thaxton, Daniel Dowling August 25, 2011; London Tam Mutu's last performance.

Les Miserables

Christopher Jacobsen (u/s Jean Valjean), Stewart Clarke (Javert), Katie Hall (Fantine), Will Callan (Marius), Lulu-Mae Pears (Cosette), Amena El-Kindy (Eponine), Luke Kempner (Thenardier), Claire Machin (Madame Thenardier), Dejan Van der Flyert (Enjolras), Alex Shaw (Gavroche), Clohe Sullivan (Little Cosette), Tom Hext (Grantaire/Majordomo), Adam Pearce (Bishop/Claquesous), Ellie Ann Lowe (Factory Girl), Jordan Simon Pollard (u/s Foreman/Bujon), Matt Dempsey (Bamatabopis/Lesgles), Annabelle Aquino, Hazel Baldwin, Emily Olive Boyd, Ben Culleton, Matt Hayden, Sam Kipling, Anouk Van Lake, Harry Lake, Ben Oatley, Jonathan Stevens, Phoebe Williams, Ollie Wray September 28, 2023; London 15,000th show in London and the 5th show for the new company.

Sunset Boulevard

Nicole Scherzinger (Norma), Tom Francis (Joe Gillis), David Thaxton (Max von Mayerling), Grace Hodgett Young (Betty Shaefer), Ahmed Hamaad (Artie), Tyler Davis (Sheldrake), Charlotte Jaconelli (Johanna), Jon Tsouras (Cecil B. de Mille) September 28, 2023; London

Rebecca

Laureen Jones (I), Richard Carson (Maxim de Winter), Kara Lane (Mrs Danvers), Sara Harlington (Beatrice), Neil Moor (Giles), Piers Bate (Frank Crewley), David Breeds (Ben), Alex James Ward (Jack Favell), Shrley Jameson (Mrs Van Hopper), Nicholas Lumley (Colonel Julian) September 27, 2023; Off-West End

POTO Video

Ian Jon Bourg, Olivia Safe (u/s), Kyle Gonyea 2001; Hamburg, Germany VOB files. One of the most legendary Phantom's opposite one of the youngest Christine's!

[gigglingdonkeyy]

Just watched s14 ep1 and omfg, i need to rant.

This fuckass random demon wants to be crowley so bad, its laughable. I mean at least he's self aware about it but cmon, what were they thinking? The first time that guy showed up and the word "darling" came out of his mouth, i felt like throwing up. I was physically uncomfortable all the time he was on screen. And his name is Kipling too?? The name of mark sheppards character from doom patrol?

Seriously what were they on about with this episode?

But i absolutely loved sam in this, so that's at least something.

[adamsvanrhijn]

The production will feature a special company of performers drawn from the West End, international, film and arena world tour casts.

From 8 September to 1 November 2025, Killian Donnelly will play Jean Valjean, with Bradley Jaden as Javert, Katie Hall as Fantine, Jac Yarrow as Marius, Shan Ako as Éponine, Jordan Shaw as Enjolras and Beatrice Penny-Touré as Cosette. Adam Gillen will appear as Thénardier and Marina Prior as Madame Thénardier. Ian McIntosh will also perform the role of Jean Valjean at certain performances.

The company is completed by Hollie Aires, Aidan Banyard, Nicholas Carter, Ella May Carter, Matthew Dale, Irfan Damani, Lila Falce-Bass, Sophie-May Feek, Jessica Johns-Parsons, Seán Keany, Chris Kiely, Sam Kipling, Mia Lamb, Sarah Lark, Ollie Llewelyn-Williams, Matthew McConnell, Aaron-Jade Morgan, Adam Pearce, William Pennington, Jordan Simon Pollard, Lewis Renninson, Danielle Rose, Georgia Tapp, Noah Thallon, Imaan Victoria, and Danny Whelan.

[darkhorse-javert]

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Going right back to the beginning of my Foyle's War writing for this one, with Sam's infection in Bad Blood as in my fic 'Desperation' on AO3. Sam's side of things

There's a thick smothering blanket pressing and wrapping around her. It won't shift, even as she tries to push it back

Very distant sounds, are they voices?

A familiar one, much closer to her ears, a steady cadence of recitation "...Pea green boat.." It's a man's voice, but not her father's, too light, too young. The voice drops back into talking, "Something about a pig, and a ring.

Pig, farm, I caught my arm on the wire trying to pet the goat. That is clear, about the last thing that is. More voices, none so clear, and a poke that might have been sharp if it wasn't so far far away. The buzz fades.

---

One voice again, talking lifting back into recitation "-ose among, the bleak twigs overhead... blast-beruffled..."

The pattern of the voice around the words pulls at her, digging through the blanket. Sea-side, the wind blowing her hair, quietly heartfelt words...

Andrew? But Andrew is in Debden, it can't be Andrew reciting Hardy. She concentrates as much as she can, but only fragments more of the poem flicker in and out.

He's talking again, the same quiet tone "...don't know what Dad...Sam, so much."

It- it has to be Andrew, no one else would talk so freely about 'Dad'. And only the Hastings Police call me 'Sam'

If he's gone AWOL again - on my account!

"Sam, there's so much.....

Gradually sentences become clearer, the blanket lifting off

"Rabbiting on like this...probably can't stand Hardy, or Blake, or even Kipling."

Some of Hardy, no, but I do like 'Thrush.'

And then when Andrew starts to speak again - and it is Andrew, she's sure, it's a peice she's never heard before, a pilot lost in darkness and being guided home.

That's not Blake. Not Blake at all...

"Oo aaay" Her lips blur the words.

There's a clatter of metal then a gasped exclamation "Sam?!" He calls for the Ward Sister, then close to her ear, "Sam...What did you say?"

The light is bright against her lids as she gathers the words I said it's not Blake "'d is no Blake."

[kerryweaverlesbian]

Kipling the Demon called Sam "my Beyoncé" but I did for a brief and wonderful moment think he said "my fiancée" and was absolutely delighted. Sadly they're just doing a normal deal and not making Sam get demon married :/

[indiejones]

THE 236 GREATEST PERSONALITIES IN THE ENTIRE KNOWN HISTORY/COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THIS WORLD! (@INDIES)

ie. THE 236 GREATEST PERSONALITIES IN WORLD HISTORY! (@INDIES)

Rajesh Khanna

Lionel Messi

Leonardo Da Vinci

Online Indie

Muhammad Ali

Joan of Arc

William Shakespeare

Vincent Van Gogh

J. K. Rowling

David Lean

Nadia Comaneci

Diego Maradona

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Meena Kumari

Julius Caesar

Harrison Ford

Ludwig Van Beethoven

William W. Cargill

Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche

Samuel Curtis Johnson

Sam Walton

John D. Rockefeller

Andrew Carnegie

Roy Thomson

Tim Berners-Lee

Marie Curie

James J. Hill

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Roman Polanski

Samuel Slater

J. P. Morgan

Cary Grant

Dmitri Mendeleev

John Harvard

Alain Delon

Ramakrishna Paramhansa (Official God)

The Lumiere Brothers, Auguste & Louis

Carl Friedrich Benz

Michelangelo

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Ramana Maharishi

Mark Twain

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri

Bruce Lee

Bhagwan Krishna (Official God)

Charlemagne

Rene Descartes

John F. Kennedy

Bhagwan Ganesha (Official God)

Walt Disney

Albert Einstein

Nikola Tesla

Alfred Hitchcock

Pythagoras

William Randolph Hearst

Cosimo de’ Medici

Johann Sebastian Bach

Alec Guinness

Nostradamus

Christopher Plummer

Archimedes

Jackie Chan

Guru Dutt

Amma Karunamayi/ Mata Parvati (Official God)

Peter Sellers

Gerard Depardieu

Joseph Safra

Robert Morris

Sean Connery

Petr Kellner

Aristotle Onassis

Usain Bolt

Jack Welch

Alfredo di Stefano

Elizabeth Taylor

Michael Jordan

Paul Muni

Steven Spielberg

Louis Pasteur

Ingrid Bergman

Norma Shearer

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Ayn Rand

Jesus Christ (Official God)

Luciano Pavarotti

Alain Resnais

Frank Sinatra

Allah (Official God)

Richard Nixon

Charlie Chaplin

Thomas Alva Edison

Alexander Graham Bell

Wright Brothers

Arjun (of Bhagwan Krishna’s Gita)

Jim Simons

George Lucas

Swami Sri Lahiri Mahasaya

Carl Lewis

Brett Favre

Helen Keller

Bernard Mannes Baruch

Buddha (Official God)

Hugh Grant

K. L. Saigal

Roger Federer

Rash Behari Bose

Tiger Woods

William Blake

Jesse Owens

Claude Miller

Bernardo Bertolucci

Subhash Chandra Bose

Satyajit Ray

Hippocrates

Chiang Kai-Shek

John Logie Baird

Geeta Dutt

Raphael (painter)

Bhagwan Shiva (Official God)

Radha (Ancient Krishna devotee)

George Orwell

Jorge Paulo Lemann

Catherine Deneuve

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Bill Gates

Bhagwan Ram (Official God)

Michael Phelps

Michael Faraday

Audrey Hepburn

Dalai Lama

Grace Kelly

Mikhail Gorbachev

Vladimir Putin

Galileo Galilei

Gary Cooper

Roger Moore

John Huston

Blaise Pascal

Humphrey Bogart

Rudyard Kipling

Samuel Morse

Wayne Gretzky

Yogi Berra

Barry Levinson

Patrice Chereau (director)

Jerry Lewis

Louis Daguerre

James Watt

Henri Rousseau

Nikita Krushchev

Jack Dorsey

Dev Anand

Elia Kazan

Alexander Fleming

David Selznick

Frank Marshall

Viswanathan Anand

Major Dhyan Chand

Swami Vivekananda

Felix Rohatyn

Sam Spiegel

Anand Bakshi

Victor Hugo

Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Official God)

Steve Jobs

Srinivasa Ramanujam

Lord Hanuman

Stanley Kubrick

Giotto

Voltaire

Diego Velazquez

Ernest Hemingway

Francis Ford Coppola

Michael Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Mario Lemieux

Kishore Kumar

James Stewart

Douglas Fairbanks

Confucius

Babe Ruth

Raj Kapoor

Titian aka Tiziano Vecelli

El Greco

Francisco de Goya

Jim Carrey

Mohammad Rafi

Steffi Graf

Pele

Gustave Courbet

Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi

Milos Forman

Steve Wozniak

Georgia O’ Keeffe

Mala Sinha

Aryabhatta

Magic Johnson

Patanjali

Leo Tolstoy

Tansen

Henry Fonda

Albrecht Durer

Benazir Bhutto

Cal Ripken Jr

Samuel Goldwyn

Mumtaz (actress)

Panini

Nicolaus Copernicus

Pablo Picasso

George Clooney

Olivia de Havilland

Prem Chand

Imran Khan

Pete Sampras

Ratan Tata

Meerabai (16th c. Krishna devotee)

Queen Elizabeth II

Pope John Paul II

James Cameron

Jack Ma

Warren Buffett

Romy Schneider

C. V. Raman

Aung San Suu Kyi

Benjamin Netanyahu

Frank Capra

Michael Schumacher

Steve Forbes

Paramhansa Yogananda

Tom Hanks

Kamal Amrohi

Hans Holbein

Shammi Kapoor

Gerardus Mercator

Edith Piaf

Bhagwan Shirdi Sai Baba (Official God) .

[indiesole]

THE 236 GREATEST PERSONALITIES IN THE ENTIRE KNOWN HISTORY/COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THIS WORLD! (@INDIES)

i.e. THE 236 GREATEST PERSONALITIES IN WORLD HISTORY! (@INDIES)

Rajesh Khanna

Lionel Messi

Leonardo Da Vinci

Muhammad Ali

Joan of Arc

William Shakespeare

Vincent Van Gogh

Online Indie

J. K. Rowling

David Lean

Nadia Comaneci

Diego Maradona

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Meena Kumari

Julius Caesar

Harrison Ford

Ludwig Van Beethoven

William W. Cargill

Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche

Samuel Curtis Johnson

Sam Walton

John D. Rockefeller

Andrew Carnegie

Roy Thomson

Tim Berners-Lee

Marie Curie

James J. Hill

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Roman Polanski

Samuel Slater

J. P. Morgan

Cary Grant

Dmitri Mendeleev

John Harvard

Alain Delon

Ramakrishna Paramhansa (Official God)

The Lumiere Brothers, Auguste & Louis

Carl Friedrich Benz

Michelangelo

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Ramana Maharishi

Mark Twain

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri

Bruce Lee

Bhagwan Krishna (Official God)

Charlemagne

Rene Descartes

John F. Kennedy

Bhagwan Ganesha (Official God)

Walt Disney

Albert Einstein

Nikola Tesla

Alfred Hitchcock

Pythagoras

William Randolph Hearst

Cosimo de’ Medici

Johann Sebastian Bach

Alec Guinness

Nostradamus

Christopher Plummer

Archimedes

Jackie Chan

Guru Dutt

Amma Karunamayi/ Mata Parvati (Official God)

Peter Sellers

Gerard Depardieu

Joseph Safra

Robert Morris

Sean Connery

Petr Kellner

Aristotle Onassis

Usain Bolt

Jack Welch

Alfredo di Stefano

Elizabeth Taylor

Michael Jordan

Paul Muni

Steven Spielberg

Louis Pasteur

Ingrid Bergman

Norma Shearer

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Ayn Rand

Jesus Christ (Official God)

Luciano Pavarotti

Alain Resnais

Frank Sinatra

Allah (Official God)

Richard Nixon

Charlie Chaplin

Thomas Alva Edison

Alexander Graham Bell

Wright Brothers

Arjun (of Bhagwan Krishna’s Gita)

Jim Simons

George Lucas

Swami Sri Lahiri Mahasaya

Carl Lewis

Brett Favre

Helen Keller

Bernard Mannes Baruch

Buddha (Official God)

Hugh Grant

K. L. Saigal

Roger Federer

Rash Behari Bose

Tiger Woods

William Blake

Jesse Owens

Claude Miller

Bernardo Bertolucci

Subhash Chandra Bose

Satyajit Ray

Hippocrates

Chiang Kai-Shek

John Logie Baird

Geeta Dutt

Raphael (painter)

Bhagwan Shiva (Official God)

Radha (Ancient Krishna devotee)

George Orwell

Jorge Paulo Lemann

Catherine Deneuve

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Bill Gates

Bhagwan Ram (Official God)

Michael Phelps

Michael Faraday

Audrey Hepburn

Dalai Lama

Grace Kelly

Mikhail Gorbachev

Vladimir Putin

Galileo Galilei

Gary Cooper

Roger Moore

John Huston

Blaise Pascal

Humphrey Bogart

Rudyard Kipling

Samuel Morse

Wayne Gretzky

Yogi Berra

Barry Levinson

Patrice Chereau (director)

Jerry Lewis

Louis Daguerre

James Watt

Henri Rousseau

Nikita Krushchev

Jack Dorsey

Dev Anand

Elia Kazan

Alexander Fleming

David Selznick

Frank Marshall

Viswanathan Anand

Major Dhyan Chand

Swami Vivekananda

Felix Rohatyn

Sam Spiegel

Anand Bakshi

Victor Hugo

Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Official God)

Steve Jobs

Srinivasa Ramanujam

Lord Hanuman

Stanley Kubrick

Giotto

Voltaire

Diego Velazquez

Ernest Hemingway

Francis Ford Coppola

Michael Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Mario Lemieux

Kishore Kumar

James Stewart

Douglas Fairbanks

Confucius

Babe Ruth

Raj Kapoor

Titian aka Tiziano Vecelli

El Greco

Francisco de Goya

Jim Carrey

Mohammad Rafi

Steffi Graf

Pele

Gustave Courbet

Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi

Milos Forman

Steve Wozniak

Georgia O’ Keeffe

Mala Sinha

Aryabhatta

Magic Johnson

Patanjali

Leo Tolstoy

Tansen

Henry Fonda

Albrecht Durer

Benazir Bhutto

Cal Ripken Jr

Samuel Goldwyn

Mumtaz (actress)

Panini

Nicolaus Copernicus

Pablo Picasso

George Clooney

Olivia de Havilland

Prem Chand

Imran Khan

Pete Sampras

Ratan Tata

Meerabai (16th c. Krishna devotee)

Queen Elizabeth II

Pope John Paul II

James Cameron

Jack Ma

Warren Buffett

Romy Schneider

C. V. Raman

Aung San Suu Kyi

Benjamin Netanyahu

Frank Capra

Michael Schumacher

Steve Forbes

Paramhansa Yogananda

Tom Hanks

Kamal Amrohi

Hans Holbein

Shammi Kapoor

Gerardus Mercator

Edith Piaf

Bhagwan Shirdi Sai Baba (Official God)

[sleepiestcreature]

names

raphael ➡️ theme: fighter // tyson mike tyler adam evan kane

zombie —> Ghoul , Anomaly , Antidote , Banish , Cryptor , Cobweb , Dredge , Ectoplasm , Fracture , Grimace , Grave , Grim , Husk , Hex , Havoc , Junkyard , Lagoon , Ominous , Lilith , Lola , Orpheus , Morrigan , Lethe , Morella , Laverna , Labyrinth , Theta , Hela , Sedna , Nekane . Growl Corpse Flesh Plague bo bone bonnie boney ste stein ash ashen zoey avenge butch butcher cal lypse apocalypse asylum auto autopsy bane brain zed zephie zee biter brutus canni decay maggot mangled fracture tristan

axolotl ➡️theme: lesbian minecraft axolotl // megan lena hayley kate taylor ellen portia sally mandy patricia kali callie kip ruby sapphire aqua joanna emma sarah pax elizabeth ally claire cecilia ginny

this one ➡️ ghost bonnie spirit psyche omen lucy camille church mary merry maribelle mirabel

this one ➡️ alexander ender violet violence iris tyrian roman bishop virgil homer moses ajax king prince basil jude indigo saint peter william henry mauve snapdragon

this one ➡️ honey honeymoon dia sabrina pluto venus saturn maya carol vesper honeybee flower rose petal leaf melissa kit susan hives georgia

this one ➡️ dae dana danielle daniel whiskers whiskey gray claw hunter neo neopolitan Eva shepherd britney west colleen rio courtney court alpha k9 asia

this one ➡️ alexandria paisley violet tyra iris tyrian juliet kate virginia penelope elizabeth jackie queen princess basil june indigo serena venus henrietta mauve maeve

fox ➡️ dream rory berry clementine skull ray earth leash vulpes kit arctic camo Ova swift taylor golden darwin joaquin valley london

(photo limit) creeper ➡️ happy, toto, rowan, antidote, zed, morrigan, morgan, derek, hank, fern, cotton, cobweb, tulip, tulio

drowned ➡️ arthur kelp glow trident gum bubbles sand beach soap suds haven toby eden erin aaron air honey life jacket

skeleton ➡️ bite archer archie skull x-ray radio shawn calm crackle arden

minecraft zombie holding flower ➡️ holden love tristan dandelion poppyseed harry

black swan ➡️ bella, swan, lake, music, princess, pierre, lully, lullaby, maria, suzanne, margot, rosella, natalia, anna, maya, galina, linda, aurora, belle, carlotta, marie, jules, fanny, giselle, martha, violet, iris, paisley, virginia, north, indigo, maeve, mauve

scara -> bite, Pierre, Indiana, jones, indigo, scarlet, Johansson, Anthony, wanderer, billy, joints, chocolate

twilight -> belle, indigo, dusk, dawn, mal, piano, apple, sparks, harmony, luna, moon, rosemary, , patchouli , blessings, sigils, crystals, robin, sol, myrtle

Jack Frost -> snow, winter, icicle, river, ocean, Peter, Kristoff, silver, grey, Christopher, nick, aspen, noel, Gabriel, alaska

he/blitz -> mason, Lloyd, kai, zane, sam, Vincent, Cole, walker, Brent, Kirby, pixel, light, lightning, cloud, vapor, vaporeon, hale, hail, Derek

daichi -> Felix, lucky, buzz, vermin, Sawyer, tom, Gibson, christian, Cyrus, crescent, moon, tuna, whiskers, nurse, summer, dime, nick, Cole, Colton, Louis, clay, basil, river, Brock, canyon

creepypasta ➡️ theme: missouri, usa , christmas, & you are loved and worthy 🩶 // blade, waylon, easton, lincoln, grave, valley, temple, lewis, levi, leviathan, house, evergreen, red, needle, plasma, clot, vessel, artery, veins, heart, atrium, bohr, bank, cody, hazard

carnotaurus ➡️ taurus, dinosaurs, argentina, // meat /// jaws, dora, dorothy, kiwi, lorde, anne, princess, ella, marija, marina, laney, lainey, lani, genesis, kipling, hannah, cerroni, marie and paulina

D*** Haikyuu -> Nick, Day, Cyan, Emerald, Sage, Van, Zinc, Leo

Immortal Haikyuu -> ambrose ambrosia brooks dyson wilhelm theodore henri plutarch pluto rainbow karma angel john wright adam

shinsuke -> wheat, rye, ryan, rice, taylor, golden

shoyo -> theme: safety orange and sunflowers // zenith, sunny, soren, sunflower, zen, citrus, juice, porridge, walter, candy, cheese, bergamot, saffron, mango, apricot, salmon, omelette

aran -> ritz jackson sydney salt mickey walter Elias Alan Mathis Aaron ivory Vincent

L Haiku -> lionel angelo leo panther mane sarhara nile niall simba daniel

mitch -> Echo.　Pattern.　Rhythm.　Wave.　Flicker.　Bounce.　Prism.　Loop.　Ripple.　Spark.　　Digit.　Data.　Quest.　Logic.　Pulse.　Detail.　Flow.　Spin.　Stim.　Focus.　Beam.　Buzz.　Orbit.　Symphony.　Comet.　Vector.　Fractal.　　　Matrix.　Cipher.　　Sonic.　Helix.　Atlas.　Nexus.　Cory. Canopy. Timber Soy Scale

Miya a theme helper -> lock, key, sushi, arlo,, Oakley, dice

miya o -> Philip Blake Brian ratio

[youstupidplonk]

🌹🌹🌹🌹

Goood evening my fellow ashes mutual 😄 I hope you’re ok. I know these are more than sentences but we all know I may never publish these fics so 🤷🏻‍♀️ - I offer you a scene from my currently unfinished Chris and Annie fic (because we all know I think they were besties)

It was Chris who’d found her. As Annie and Sam had searched the living room and the study, Chris had murmured noncommittally about searching the bedroom. Annie had just put a collection of Rudyard Kipling stories back on the bookshelf when she heard an almost shriek from the stairs. She’d made it two steps out of the room before colliding with Sam. They’d shared a brief look, confirming the distressed sound hadn’t been the other, before turning and continuing to run for the stairs. Approaching the half landing, they collided with an ashen-faced Chris.

[xtruss]

The 9 Biggest and Best Kitchen Trends Now, According to Interior Design Pros

Interior designers share the latest kitchen styles—from exposed beams to ‘secret’ pantry doors and granite countertops (yes, they’re back!). Plus the trends that may be dating the most important room in your house.

— By Catherine Romano | February 21, 2025 | The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)

In her own kitchen, Ruth Webber, creative director at British tile brand Bert & May, opted for the company’s unpolished ceramics in a pale terra cotta. Photo: Kev Hiscoe

The steady drift away from lab-like kitchens continues, and the pendulum has swung toward decidedly organic colors. So concur many of the hundreds of pros who helped us identify today’s most in-demand kitchen-design trends. Beiges, soft browns and even dark wood, long considered dated, have crept back into vogue. “Mixed with more contemporary furniture and lighting, these finishes feel fresh and create spaces that are very intimate,” said New York designer Jennifer Weisberg.

Conclusively Out: A perfectionist vibe, which Tami O’Malley, a designer in St. Charles, Ill., notes “is being replaced by authentic, cozy spaces.”

Here, The Nine Kitchen-Design Styles Designers Deem Current, And The Looks That Have Seen Their Days Come And Go:

IN: Visible Means of Support

Photo: Haris Kenjar

“The use of ceiling beams, whether original or decorative, has likely become popular because they add warmth, texture and architectural interest,” said Sean Anderson, a designer in Memphis, Tenn. Anderson added struts to this kitchen in the Tribeca area of Manhattan as a nod to the neighborhood’s former industrial character.

OUT: Ceilings pocked with recessed down lights.

IN: Big Range Hoods That Blend In

Photo: Matt Kisiday

Marita Simmons, of Minneapolis’s Kipling House Interiors, says designers are establishing “cooking zones” by insetting the range and two flanking cabinets. “This allows for a large hood, with broad ventilation, to span the width of the niche and feel more integrated with the architecture.”

OUT: Strapped and riveted vents hanging from the wall like errant treasure chests.

IN: Earthy Neutrals

Photo: Beth Davis

Designers see a move toward organic tones such as terracotta and sand, “which bring a natural warmth to a kitchen,” said Ruth Webber. The creative director at British tile brand Bert & May clad this kitchen, her own, in the company’s Medina Raw Bejmat style.

OUT: Bright whites and grays with blue undertones, says Webber.

IN: Fabric Panels

Photo: Christian Torres

Julia Miller of Yond Interiors in Minneapolis predicts we’ll see more curtain-backed glass cabinet fronts, like those Brooklyn designer Jenna Chused included in this design for New York cabinet company Isla Porter. The fabric “transforms cabinetry into what feels more like furniture,” she said.

OUT: “There will always be a time and place for the iconic shaker-style cabinet,” said interior designer Athena Calderone, “but it’s really time to move on.”

IN: Long, Sculptural Island Lights

Photo: Arhaus

Designers are dangling a single, horizontal fixture, like this Remming Linear Chandelier from Arhaus, over kitchen islands. “I appreciate the uniform and consistent light [a long pendant] provides across the work surface,” said Arlington, Va., designer Erin Myers. New York pro Clive Lonstein has turned to these lengthy chandeliers for Manhattan projects where he sought a minimalist approach.

OUT: Said Toronto designer Sam Sacks, “The industry is moving away from the stereotypical arrangement of three pendants over a kitchen island, especially paired with a line of kitchen stools.”

IN: Wooden Hardware

Photo: Haris Kenjar

Though some pros still opt for spiffy metal pulls for drawers and cabinets—“the jewelry of the kitchen”—others are turning to timber details like the OH Knobs by Spanish brand Viefe. Anderson, who chose large-scale oak appliance pulls in the kitchen above, appreciates their amiable interaction with other natural components in the room, such as the stained cabinetry and reclaimed beams.

OUT: Bin pulls. Your kitchen isn’t Old Doc Wilson’s apothecary and feed store.

IN: Gleaming, Airy Bistro Racks

Photo: Carina Skrobecki

“We will continue to see wall cabinets replaced with open French shelving,” said Cyndy Cantley, a kitchen designer in Birmingham, Ala. Seattle interior designer Jessica Nelson deployed this particularly chic set because it doesn’t block the wall’s green tile, and the glass and brass shelving “really packs a visual punch.”

OUT: “We are moving on from the heavily veined marble backsplash with accompanying floating marble shelf,” said Calderone.

IN: Chicly Camouflaged Storage

In her own kitchen in Edina, Minn., designer Marita Simmons hid a pantry behind a cabinetry-like door. Photo: Matt Kisiday

Design pros such as Maria Zoe Vassiliou are tucking store rooms behind jib doors. “They make the entire kitchen feel cohesive,” said the Shrewsbury, N.J., designer. Simmons similarly disguised the entrance to a dry-goods pantry in her own kitchen, above, noting, “Everyone loves the surprise when they push on the cabinetry face to discover the hidden room.”

OUT: Everything, everywhere and in plain sight.

IN: Impervious Stone

Photo: Christopher Horwood

Angelica Squire sees hardy and robust granite returning to countertops. “A honed, matte finish steers clear of the 1980s look,” said the co-founder of London’s Studio Squire. In this cottage kitchen, the designer installed tumbled black granite, slightly rougher and more rustic than honed: “It’s a goody, with its slatelike appearance and bombproof attributes,” she said.

OUT: Dazzling, shiny but impractical marbles that cooking basics such as lemon juice can easily stain, says Squire.